knowsAbout

knowsAbout · Not mentioned by Google

Appears in

Organization · Person

What is it?

knowsAbout indicates topics, subjects, or areas that a person or organization has knowledge about. It signals expertise or familiarity with a domain without formally claiming certification or credentials. The field accepts plain text strings, URLs pointing to topic definitions, or full Thing objects.

Schema.org notes this property is more commonly used on Person types, but explicitly supports it on Organization as well.

Why this matters for AEO

When a user asks "Which companies specialize in [topic]?" or "Who has expertise in [domain]?", AI answer engines need explicit signals about knowledge areas. knowsAbout provides those signals directly. An AI engine answering "consulting firms that specialize in supply chain optimization" can match organizations that declare knowsAbout: "supply chain optimization" without relying solely on page content analysis.

For Person entities, knowsAbout is central to E-E-A-T evaluation. When an AI engine assesses whether an author is qualified to write about a topic, it checks knowsAbout alongside jobTitle and worksFor to build an expertise profile.

What the specs say

Schema.org: Expects Text, Thing, or URL. "Of a Person, and less typically of an Organization, to indicate a topic that is known about, suggesting possible expertise but not implying it." Source

Google: Not listed in Google's structured data documentation for Organization or Person. Source

How to find your value

• Service pages — Core service areas and specializations
• Team bios — Expertise areas listed for key staff
• Case studies — Industries and topics covered
• Conference talks — Subjects presented on
• Publications — Research areas and published topics
• LinkedIn skills — Endorsed expertise areas

Format and code

Plain text array (most common):

{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Person",
  "name": "Dr. Sarah Chen",
  "knowsAbout": [
    "machine learning",
    "natural language processing",
    "computational linguistics"
  ]
}

URL references to topic definitions:

{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Organization",
  "name": "DeepMind",
  "knowsAbout": [
    "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artificial_intelligence",
    "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reinforcement_learning",
    "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protein_structure_prediction"
  ]
}

On Organization:

{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Organization",
  "name": "McKinsey & Company",
  "knowsAbout": [
    "management consulting",
    "digital transformation",
    "supply chain optimization",
    "corporate strategy"
  ]
}

Plain text strings are the simplest and most widely used format. URL references to Wikipedia or Wikidata entries are stronger for entity disambiguation, as they tie expertise to well-defined concepts. Use five to fifteen topics that accurately represent core areas of knowledge. Avoid padding with tangential subjects.

Webflow implementation

Static pages

Add knowsAbout in Page Settings > Custom Code (before </head>):

<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Person",
  "name": "Pavel Kurecka",
  "knowsAbout": ["CRO", "Webflow", "Schema Markup", "AEO"]
}
</script>

CMS template pages

For team member or author pages, reference a plain text CMS field that stores comma-separated expertise areas:

<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Person",
  "name": "{{wf {"path":"name","type":"PlainText"} }}",
  "knowsAbout": "{{wf {"path":"expertise","type":"PlainText"} }}"
}
</script>

Note: Webflow CMS does not natively support JSON arrays in template fields. For a single CMS field, output it as a plain text string. Schema HQ handles the array conversion automatically.

In Schema HQ

The knowsAbout field configures knowsabout in both organization and person schema editors. enter expertise topics as a list, and schema hq outputs them as a properly formatted array of strings in the published json-ld. is supported

Real examples

No live implementations of knowsAbout were found during research.

{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Person",
  "name": "Rand Fishkin",
  "jobTitle": "Co-founder",
  "worksFor": {
    "@type": "Organization",
    "name": "SparkToro"
  },
  "knowsAbout": [
    "SEO",
    "audience research",
    "content marketing",
    "startup growth"
  ]
}

Related fields

• description — free-text summary that may cover expertise areas
• jobTitle — professional title that implies domain knowledge
• worksFor — employer that provides professional context
• alumniOf — education that shaped expertise areas
• knowsLanguage — languages the person speaks or reads
• skills — skills required for a job or held by a person

FAQ

What is the difference between knowsAbout and description?

knowsAbout is a structured list of discrete topics. description is free-form prose. AI systems parse knowsAbout as explicit expertise signals, while description requires natural language processing to extract the same information. Use both: description for human readers, knowsAbout for machines.

Does knowsAbout help with Google E-E-A-T?

Indirectly. Google does not explicitly use knowsAbout for ranking, but AI systems and knowledge graph parsers read it. Declaring author expertise with knowsAbout on Person entities complements other E-E-A-T signals like author bios, credentials, and publication history.

How many topics should I list?

Five to fifteen topics that accurately represent core areas of knowledge. Each entry should be a topic someone might specifically seek expertise in. Listing too many dilutes the signal; listing too few misses legitimate expertise areas.